Marked For Death | klangst

Thirteen.

Everyone else was in the mechanics room. Hunk and Coran were trying to stabilize the crystals within the light cannon prototype Pidge had designed, but they were having trouble. Each time they thought they were in the right position, the cannon sparked and everyone jumped away in surprise.

"I don't get why it isn't working..." Pidge trailed off, her glasses slipping down to the tip of her nose. "I know my calculations are all correct... Everything should be running perfectly right now, so why isn't it..." She continued muttering to herself, going over all of her designs and math in her mind.

"Maybe we're all just tired," Allura commented, taking a step forward. "We tried to get these crystals in the correct position all of yesterday. And you've been at this since this morning. For now, I suggest we all get some rest."

"But the more we wait on getting this thing in order, the more we risk something happening to Lance," Hunk protested for the sake of his best friend.

"Hunk, the longer we spend on this without sleep only heightens that chance. You won't be able to think clearly," Allura told him softly.

Shiro decided to speak up. "Guys, I think Allura is right," he said, folding his arms across his chest. "We need to be on our A-game, and we can't do that if we're sleep deprived."

No one wanted to accept defeat, but they lowered their heads in agreement. In the back of their minds, they all knew Shiro was correct, along with Allura. But that didn't change the way they felt.

"Guys!" Keith burst through the door, his breaths hard and short. His face was vacant of color, save for the redness on his cheeks from exertion.

"Keith!" everyone exclaimed in surprise. Pidge and Hunk smiled broadly; Coran was fiddling with his mustache, curling it between his fingers; Allura wore a soft smile, the kind she usually had on her face when she was reminiscing fond memories of her father; and Shiro looked proud, though he tried to conceal it.

"We didn't know you had woken up," Coran commented, his mustache still between his fingers.

Keith turned to him, still winded. "Yeah... For about twenty minutes now," he replied, trying to catch his breath. "But there's something else."

Shiro instantly was wary, his ears perking up in curiosity and concern. "What is it?"

"Lance," Keith breathed, his eyes wide with worry and fear. "I think he might be in trouble."

"What makes you say that, Keith?" Allura asked, folding her arms across her chest.

"I was with the Blue Lion, to see if she might provide any answers at all to where Lance could be, and moments after I got there, she started roaring and jumping around the hangar," the Red Paladin informed her.

"Wait," Allura stopped him before he could continue again. "It roared?"

"Is that significant, Princess?" Shiro asked, turning to face her.

"It's odd... The lions have never been able to voice themselves like that..." she tapered off, furrowing her eyes together.

"Actually, King Alfor once told me of a tale," Coran said, picking at his nails.

"My father did what?" Allura questioned in astonishment, shocked that her own father had kept something from her. "What was it?"

"If the bond between lion and Paladin is strong enough, the lion becomes the voice of it's Paladin," Coran answered, finally starting to see the severity of the situation.

"Wait, so if Blue is going bezerk and roaring constantly..." Keith trailed off, afraid of the answer.

"It's most likely that Lance is experiencing something that induces roaring, or the human equivalent..."

"Screaming," Shiro supplied, his voice grim.

Coran looked to his feet. "I should also mention... If a Paladin succeeds in creating such an intense bond with their lion, and something were to happen to them whilst the lion was in that state, the lion would forever disengage."

"What does that mean?" Hunk spoke up, his voice wobbly.

"It means," Coran started with a sigh, "if Lance was to die down there, the Blue Lion will shut down all of its operating systems and will never turn back on again."

"That would bring an end to the Blue Paladin," Allura said in shock, tears pricking her eyes.

"It also means an end to Voltron," Shiro stated, his voice vacant of energy. "Without the Blue Lion -- without the Blue Paladin -- we can't form Voltron at all."

Everyone was quiet as they allowed the bombshell to sink into their minds and implode, causing grief, stress, and immeasurable amounts of concern.

"So what are we waiting for?" Keith asked in a rush, shocked that no one had provided a course of action yet. "We have to help him!"

"Keith, calm down," Shiro tried to calm him, walking to him and placing reassuring hands on his shoulders. "We will -- as soon as Pidge, Hunk, and Coran have this cannon operational."

"And when will that be?" Keith cried, freeing himself from Shiro's grasp. "Lance could be dying down there!"

"You don't think we know that already?!" Shiro exploded, his calming nature vanishing into thin air. His breathing became fierce and labored, his fists clenching. Keith took a step way from him in fright. He'd never seen Shiro get angry with him before -- at least, not like this. "You don't have to remind us, alright? We know. Every time a part is misplaced, or a test run fails, we're reminded that Lance cold be taking his last breath, seeing his last glimpse of light until his eyes close forever. We know."

He paused to collect himself, to stop his blood from simmering in his veins. He looked around the room, gazing into everyone's eyes individually. They were all the same: intense heed and trepidation. Shiro sighed. "Keith, I'm sorry for blowing up, but we all care about Lance, too. We're all worried about him. But we can't help until this is functioning properly," he apologized, his voice returning to its normal authoritative and soothing tone.

Keith swallowed his emotions. "I'm sorry, too..." he began, his voice trailing off. "I got so caught up in wanting to find Lance, I forgot that I'm not only one that wants him back." The Red Paladin wrapped his arms around his body, rubbing warmth back into the skin. "I... I think I'm gonna head back to the hangars -- to see if Blue is still acting the way she was before."

Allura took a cautious step forward, careful not to overstep any boundaries. "May I accompany you?" she asked lightly, wisps of silver hair falling in front of her eyes.

"Course, Princess," Keith answered, his voice deflated and void of energy.

"Thank you," she replied, walking up to Keith's side. Before they walked out of the room, she told the other Paladins and Coran, "If you decide to continue working on this and succeed in getting it operational, please alert us as soon as you can."

"We will, Allura," Pidge promised, being the voice of the others.

Allura smiled at her and left the room with Keith, their heads lowered solemnly. They had no idea what they were walking into.